Officials 'accept 157yr-old woman claim'

Census officials in Indonesia have reportedly accepted a woman's claim to be the oldest person in history.

According to AFP, the authorities believe that South Sumatran villager Turinah was born in 1853, making her 157 years old.

Statistics bureau official Jhonny Sardjono said: "There's no authentic data to prove her age but judging from her statements and the age of her adopted daughter, who's now 108 years old, it's difficult to doubt it.

"Despite her age she still has an incredible memory, clear sight and has no hearing problems. She speaks Dutch quite fluently."

He added that Turinah burnt all her identification documents to distance herself from an alleged communist coup in 1965.

According to accepted records, the oldest person ever to have lived was French woman Jeanne Calment, who passed away on August 4 1997 at the age of 122 and 164 days.